Device for giving foot comfort



Oct. 2 1923.

- w. M. SCHOLL DEVICE FOR GIVING FOOT COMF ORT Filed Feb. 8

1 WILL M. SCHOLL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DEVICE FOR GIVING FOOT COMFORT.

Application filed February 8, 1919. Serial No. 275,698.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. SoHoLL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Giving FootComfort, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for giving foot comfort, and in someof its features more particularly to flexible, adjustable, paddedinsoles. It has for its general object to provide a leather bodystructure and adjusting pads such. that the device may be readily andaccurately adjusted to suit the requirements of the wearer, and suchthat all parts will be simple, inexpensive and easily made andassembled.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationsand arrangements of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully pointedout and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view,

with parts broken away, showing a flexible arch-support embodying theinvention; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3

is a view with parts broken away showing the under side of thearch-support; Fig. 4 is a detail of a ductile metal ribbon, and Fig. 5illustrates a plurality of detachable fillers in process of assembly onsuch a ribbon.

The body of the device, as shown, comprises upper and lower members, 10and 11, constituting respectively a cover piece and a base, these beingconnected permanently together in such manner as to form effectivepockets, open marginally to permit their being spread apart for theinsertion of intervenin fillers at the desired points.

Spec' cally, each of these members 10 and 11, in the preferred flexibleor non-metallic construction shown, is made of leather, the body beingshaped to conform to the inside of a shoe so as approximately to fillthe heel and shank portion thereof and extend to the ball of the shoe.The cover member 10 may be extended laterally along. its inner edge tolie against the side of the shoe under the wearers instep-arch. Theconnection between these two members, in such aflex ible leatherconstruction, may be effectedby stitching 13, such stitching preferablyfollowing two courses 14 and 15,. to unitethe leather pieces along twospaced-apart lines extending along the outer edge of the support fromnear the middle or shank thereof, and also to connect the leather piecesat two widely spaced points respectively, near the ball and heel ends ofthe inner margin of the support. Such connection leaves three pockets16, 17 and 18, marginally opening toward the inner side of the shank,the front of the ball portion, and the rear of the heel portion,respectively, for the reception of adjusting filler-members or pads. Thestitching illustratedis eflective for this purpose, the course or runlextending from a point near the inner forward portion of the body in ashallow are nearly to the center of the shank; then transversely to, andforwardly along the outer edge of,.thev device for a suitable distance;and then inward again to substantially intercept the stitching-arcaforesaid. The other course or run of st1tch-- ing, 15, takes a enerallysimilar shape with respect to the fieel portion, the separation betweenthe adjacent transverse portions of the lines of stitching leaving arestricted outlet opening 19 from the pocket 16 to v the outer margin ofthe support between the two leather plies. Each .of the other pocketsreferred to, preferably, has a re stricted opening opposite to its openmargin, through which access may be had fromthe pocket to the bottom ofthe device, and so for the respective ball. and; heel pockets 17 and 18,I make slits 20 and21 in'the base leather 11,,adjacent the longitudinalaxis of the appliance. a Y I Any or all of the stated: pockets may bepadded with removable and adjustable pads to give the desired elevationto the coverpiece and the desired degreeof resistivity, at any of theareas corresponding with the pockets. -Usually the longitudinal insteparch requires the greatest elevation and the firmest support, and in thepocket 16 there may be inserted one or more filler members disposed togive, or superimposed so as 1% roW, its pliancy being such that it mayreadi ily be bent by the fingers. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, several padsor filler members, 25, each skived along its appropriate edges andseverally decreasing in area so that jointly they may provide a smoothlycurving hump, are suitably apertured and threaded on a metal ribbonwhich, after being bent down around the pads so as to hold them snuglyin assembled relation, may have its free, confronting, contactingend-portions run through the passage 19 and bent sharply back aroundunder the lower leather piece, as best shown in Figure 2. Insubstantially the same way and by the same means, adapted only in size,single or superimposed filler pads may be emplaced in and retained inthe ball and heel pockets, or either of them, the ribbon being runthrough the appropriate slits made in the lower leather piece.

In character the fillers may vary. Usually, for filling the sidepockets, leather elements 25, properly skived, and each having a canvaspatch 26 cemented to its under side, are used, these giving thestifiness and texture found most desirable. The canvas patch not onlygives added stren th to the leather, but assists in creating africtional engagement between the superimposed plies thatwill make verydefinite the positioning of the parts with respect to each other andwill prevent squeaking. In building up a rather thick laminated fillerfor the instep arch-it is preferable to employ as the bottom ply amaster filler having several distinct slots 27, through any one of whichthe metal ribbon may be'looped according to desired positioning of thefiller. Other cooperating filler members may have individual, separatedslots as indicated at 27 in Fig. 5, or a single elongated slot as shownat 28. In either such way adjustment of the filler, or its omponentparts, transversely to the ribbon may be had, and of course the snugnesswith which the pad is drawn into its pocket by the ribbon will give acertain latitude of adjustment in the opposite direction even where asingle slit, or a number of slits in a single line he used.

For many urposes, particularly for very tender feet, elt pads may beemployed as indicated at 30; or if desired, any one of the fillers maybe made of rubber, as indicated at 31 in connection with the heelpocket. In the heel arrangement it is sometimes desirable to use rubberas a heel cushion and sometimes a harder filler, inclined transverselyto straighten up the foot,

' is desirable.

parent that some of its features may be employed in a metal-base-platearch suprt; that in its broader aspects it is not limited to thespecific materialsreferred to; and

that embodiments of the invention may be made, within the scope of theappended claims, in many and varied forms of detail.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, upper and lower membersconnected to" form therebetween a marginally-open pocket having anopposite relatively-restricted opening, and a filler in said pocketcomprising a member having a slit therethrough and a ductile metalribbon engaging said slit, said ribbon passing through the saidrestricted opening and bent around the edge of said opening forretention.

:2. In a device of the character described, upper and lower membersconnected to leave therebetween a pocket marginally opening and having arestricted opposite opening, a filler member having a slit, and aductile thin metal ribbon looped through said slit and with itssuperimposed end portions passing through the restricted opening andbent back under the edge of the latter.

3. An adjusting ad for arch supports comprising a suitab y' shaped bodyhaving a slit, and a thin ductile metal ribbon looped through said slitand with its limbs projecting beyond the edge of the member insuperimposed contacting relation.

i. A device of the character described comprising upper and lowerleather members stitched together to form a pocket open along arelatively large marginal mouth and having a relatively narrow openingopposite the mouth, and a filler member in said pocket having a thin,readily-bendable metal tongue of width substantially conforming to \thenarrow opening and bent back around the edge of the lower member,

detachably to retain the filler member in place.

5. A device of the character described comprising upper and lowerleather members united by stitching that outlines a side pocket openmarginally along the inner side of the shank and also outlines aparallelsided transverse outlet passage opening to the inner sideof theshank and to said pocket, and a filler member in said pocket having athin soft-metal tongue of width substantially conforming to that of saidoutlet passage, said tongue extending through and ositioned in saidpassage, and the end of sai d tongue being bent back under the lowerleather member detach-ably to retain the filler member in its pocket.

6. A filler member for arch supports comprising a plurality ofsuperimposed pads having slits, one of said pads being slitted toreceive the ribbon at different positions; a relatively narrow thinductile, ribbon of metal looped through the slits of said pads, saidribbon having its end portions brought into over-lapping contact.

7; In a device of the character described,

a flexible body shaped to fit the heel and shank of a shoe and having aocket opening toward the inner margin of t e shank'of the body, andhaving a restricted opposite open ing, a filler for said pocketcomprising superimposed slitted members shaped so as jointly to form asuitable hump, and a thin.

ductile metal ribbon looped through said slits, extending through therestricted opening, and bent back around the edge of said opening to lieunder the body.

8. In a device of the character described, a body having a pocket, aplurality of superposed pads and a single means joining said padsdetachably and detachable with said receive a plurality of superimposedpads, a

plurality of pads structurally adapted .for assembly in variable number,and a unitary means structurally capable of. coaction'with a variablenumber of pads to position and retain the selected number of pads inamembled relation and of coaction with the'bod to position and retainsaid assembled pa in said body pocket.

10. In a device of the character described, a body having a pocket, aplurality of superimposed pads in said pocket and a single ductileribbon joining said pads and engaging the body to retain the pads insaid pocket.

11. In a device of the character described, a body comprising upper andlower members connected to provide a pocket open marginally along theinner side of the shank and having an opposite relatively restrictedopening, a filler inserted in said pockethaving a relatively long narrowslit, and a ductile metal ribbon narrower than the slit length engagingin the slit, said ribbon passing through said opposite opening and bentback around an edge thereof.

12. In a device of the character described, a'body comprising upper andlower members connectedxto providea pocket open marginally along theinner side of the shank and having an opposite relatively restrictedopening, a filler inserted in said pocket comprising a pluralit pads,one thereof, aving a relatively long narrow slit, and a ductile metalribbon, narrower than the slit length of the one pad, engaging the padslits, said ribbon passing through said opposite opening and bent backaround an edge thereof.

WILLIAM M. SCHOLL.

of superposed slitted-

